Passenger vehicles that offer two of more rows of seating, such as the Jeep JK Unlimited, generally provide second, and possibly third or fourth row seating by way of a seat bench fixedly mounted to the floor of the vehicle. The bench may be directly bolted to the floor or may be mounted onto a bracket which is then secured to the vehicle's body. These “rear seats” are typically bench style seats having a padded seat platform and an angled back rest. In some vehicle models, the angled back rest is pivotally connected to the platform such that the back rest can fold forward to lie on the platform thereby creating a flat cargo area or otherwise increasing the cargo hold volume of the vehicle. One significant drawback of the bench seat is the inability to adjust the seat's angle of recline. That is, the platform and back rest are fixedly secured to the body of the vehicle at a predetermined angle. In some cases, riders occupying the rear seats may not find the predetermined seat angles to be comfortable or to be adequately supporting the rider's back or legs.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a system and method for adjusting the angle of recline of a vehicle's rear seat.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for adjusting the rear seat recline angle without requiring modifications to any of the factory installed brackets, legs or mounting bolts.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for adjusting the recline angle of a rear seat which does not adversely affect the proper functioning of factory installed safety restraining devices.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for adjusting the rear seat recline angle without impacting the ability of the back rest to pivot over and onto the seat platform.